


Scars Don't Heal Easily (Believe Me, I Know)

by zouge_tori



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Coping, Emotional Manipulation, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Healing, Holders Do Not Have to Be Soulmates, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Kwamis All Have Soulmates, M/M, Nooroo Drinks Wine, Nooroo is Depressed and Bitter, Nooroo's Recharge Food is Grapes, Original Trans Character(s) - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Paranoia, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Poor Everyone, Poor Nooroo, Poor Wayzz, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rating May Change, Self-Hatred, Self-Indulgent, Tags May Change, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Victim Blaming, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 05:19:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15357135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zouge_tori/pseuds/zouge_tori
Summary: When Ryan Cassidyーa 15-year-old international student from Irelandーmoved to Paris with his older brotherーwho doubles as his only guardianー, he doesn’t know what he expected.All he knows is that he certainly didn’t expect to be roped into a world of magic and superheroes when he picks up a magical purple brooch from out of the gutter.So now his already complicated life is made even harder as he strives to juggle fitting into a new school, being a good brother, being a literal superhero, and helping his new friend with their trauma.This will be fun.AKA the author makes a self-indulgent fic where Gabriel drops the Butterfly miraculous, my one OC becomes the new Butterfly miraculous holder, and someone actually helps Nooroo through the trauma that he undoubtedly has.





	1. A New Start (Part 1)

“ _Alright, alright. Alright, alright. Alright, alright! It's a helluva feeling though! It's a helluva feeling though! Alright, alright! It's a helluva feeling though It's a helluva feeling though!_ “ Ryan’s alarm played.

With a groan and a sigh, Ryan sat up in bed and ran his fingers through his blue and chestnut hair to somewhat tame it. Reaching down lazily to grab his phone from where it was lying on the floor, as they couldn’t find a proper bedside table for him, he looked at the clock on the phone.

_6:30_

Meaning he had 2 hours to get ready and walk to school.

Groaning once more, Ryan got up and, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, grabbed the stack of clothing that he had picked out for himself last night, and then went to the bathroom across the hallway and showered quickly, not wanting to waste the hot water as well as time.

After drying himself down, he got dressed in his binder, white Panic! At the Disco t-shirt, boxers, jeans, socks, and blue converses. Picking up all of his dirty clothing, Ryan went into his room and dumped it all into the laundry basket.

Grabbing his backpack from where he had put it last night, he slung it over his shoulder and started to go toward the kitchen. However, Ryan stopped when he saw Seamus’s sleeping form in the moonlit room. Smiling sadly, he walked over and sat down on his older brother’s bed, pushing some of the hair out of his face and noting the deep bags under his eyes.

It was strange, really.

Most of the time, Seamus gave off this aura of being the one in control and being the scary older brother/guardian who didn’t take shit from anyone. But, in moments where he was asleep or resting, he seemed so fragile and ready to shatter at any moment.

That’s what probably lead Ryan to always check up on him in the mornings, even if Seamus ended up being annoyed as hell at him for waking him up.

Speaking of…

“Shay?”

Ryan gently tapped his brother’s shoulder, causing the 23-year-old to make a soft sound in his sleep.

“Shay?”

The 16-year-old repeated the motion, this time tapping him a little harder. This time, Seamus groaned and blearily opened his eyes, barely focusing on Ryan.

“What is it, Ry?” Seamus asked in Gaelic, the heels of his hands rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Also, I feel like you should start getting used to be woken up earlier because I want to say goodbye.” Ryan replied back in their native language with a smirk.

“Oh piss off, Ry.” Seamus grumbled, grabbing his pillow and putting it over his head.

Ryan giggled at the action but knew that he didn’t mean it, as Seamus had commented on multiple occasions that it was actually very comforting for Ryan to check up on him every morning. However, Ryan did get up and leave the room, though he did half-hug his brother before he left.

Humming to himself, he went into the kitchen and got some Eggo waffles and put them inside the toaster. As the waffles cooked, Ryan got out his phone and started going through various social medias, though he made sure to avoid Tumblr, as 1) he didn’t want to be sucked into that void, and 2) he hadn’t seen the most recent episode of one of the shows he was catching up on. However, once they popped out, he put away his phone and quickly ate the waffles plain, as he didn’t want to risk it taking too long.

After he had eaten, Ryan said his final goodbyes to Seamus before leaving, making sure to lock the apartment door behind him. He walked down the stairway, greeting the other people who lived in the complex as he passed them.

Ryan let out a huge sigh of gratification as he went outside, the sun just barely peeking over the building. It felt nice to breathe the very fresh and pleasing air of Paris in the morning. As he started to walk down the street toward the school, he paused at the intersection.

On one hand, he could go across there and keep on going straight, which would be shorter. On the other hand, however, he could go across and go right, which would lead him to take a longer, less efficient route to school.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his phone and checked what time it was.

_7:10_

He had an hour and twenty minutes to get to school. Shrugging, Ryan crossed the street and then turned right, deciding to take the long way round. He had some time to kill so might as well explore what was now his neighborhood.

The building across the street to the left of the complex was a tall mansion with cream walls, large white brick walls surrounding the perimeter, black iron gates, and golden decorations on the building. It was rather intimidating, if Ryan had to be honest. But oh, was it pretty to look at.

So pretty that as he was walking past the front of the mansion, he ran into someone rather abruptly.

“I’m so sorry!” Ryan immediately apologized in Gaelic.

However, he soon realized two things: a) he had just spoken in Gaelic and b) the person that he had bumped into was none other than Gabriel Agreste, world-famous fashion designer and his parents’ old acquaintance.

“I’m so, so sorry, sir! I wasn't watching where I was going!” Ryan apologized again, this time in his shaky French.

Ryan saw the way that Mr. Agreste’s lip curled into a sneer and his eyes glittered with clear disdain, making a cold shiver go down the Irish boy’s spine as he realized that the Frenchman didn’t recognize him at all..

“Foreigner.” the man spat in French, obviously not realizing that Ryan could understand what he was saying.

However, before the 16-year-old could defend himself in any manner, Mr. Agreste already had continued walking and had stepped into the limousine, which sped off, leaving the smell of burning rubber in the air.

With a dejected sigh, Ryan went to continue on his way when he noticed something glittering in the gutter. Curiously, he bent down and picked up the object, which turned out to be a simple silver jewelry box. Ryan then opened the box and “ooo”ed at the sight of a brooch shaped like a minimalistic butterfly with a simple indigo gemstone acting as the body and 4 leaf-like silver pieces acting like the wings.

Who would discard such a pretty brooch, especially in the gutter?

Looking around to see if anyone was there, Ryan put it inside one of the smaller pockets of his bag, deciding that he was going to keep it. He then looked at his phone once more to check in what time it was.

_7:20_

With a small smirk and happy bounce in his step, Ryan continued on his way to school, not knowing what he had just been roped into.

\----------------------

Alya couldn't help but roll her eyes and chuckle at how lovey-dovey Adrien and Marinette were as the group all walked to school.

When everyone's secret identities were revealed to one another—well, more accurately, Trixx was a mischievous little Kwami who thought that it would be fun to reveal the civilian identities to the other holders—there were almost immediate relationship changes: Adrien and Marinette got together, her and Nino got together, and Chloé finally realized that Adrien wasn't interested in her and had become friends with Marinette.

However, unlike her and Nino, who were much more subtle about their relationship, both in and out of costume, Adrien and Marinette became bolder with their affections, which ranged from a shared kiss after defeating an Akuma to flirtatious remarks as they talked together in school.

However, Alya’s attention was taken off of the couple by noticing that there was a kid waiting outside of the building, looking a mix of nervous and bored at the same time. He had chestnut hair with blue bangs, bright blue eyes, peachy skin, and wore a white t-shirt that had black writing in English, jeans, and blue converse sneakers. Over his shoulder was a green bag with a black skull logo emblazoned on the front of it that seemed eerily familiar.

“Ryan?” Adrien suddenly asked, looking surprised at the boy.

The boy, Ryan, looked as if gears were moving in head before he gasped, a wide grin on his face. He practically skipped over, his hands holding the strap of his bag tightly with a giant grin. He then said something rapidly in another language, the only thing that Alya could understand being Adrien’s name. However, Ryan seemed to realize that he had been speaking another language as he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

“Sorry about that, Adrien. I got so excited that I forgot French for a minute there. Anyway, it’s been awhile! How’ve you been?” he said in unsteady French.

“It’s fine, Ry. How’ve you and your family been doing?” Adrien said with a nostalgic chuckle and a smile.

Ryan’s happy look briefly flickered as he obviously remembered something very unpleasant. His eyes became downcast as they focused on his hands as he fiddled with his bag.

“Mom and Dad died two years ago in a car crash. Seamus has been raising me and acting as my guardian ever since then.” Ryan admitted, though it was obvious that there were a lot of things that also weren’t said.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Is that why you and Seamus moved here?” Adrien asked, moving forward and putting his hand on his shoulder.

“Actually, no. Uncle Adam bought us an apartment here so that it would be easier to collaborate with your dad’s company. You know, because Adam’s a selfish,” Ryan said a word in the other language again.

Whatever that word meant, Adrien laughed, a grin on his face. Ryan giggled too, obviously happy by the presence of his old friend. However, Adrien soon realized that he had forgotten to do introductions and he wrapped an arm around Ryan’s shoulders.

“I nearly forgot! These are my friends: Nino Lahiffe,” Nino shot the boy finger guns and a grin, “Alya Césaire,” Alya waved with an intrigued smirk on her face, “and my wonderful girlfriend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” Adrien finished by gesturing at Marinette, who was blushing and giggling in an embarrassed fashion.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Ryan Cassidy.” Ryan said with a grin and a wave.

That’s when it clicked in Alya’s brain why the boy seemed so familiar: he was a member of the famous Cassidy family, who owned a large company that spanned the UK but was centralized in Northern Ireland. It used to be owned by Veronica and Jason Cassidy but was taken over by Adam Cassidy when the two passed away.

And, by the looks on Nino and Marinette’s faces, they recognized the last name too.

However, before anyone could question the boy, the bell went off, causing Ryan to bolt as he obviously ran off to go search for his homeroom. Adrien chuckled at his friend before looking over at his girlfriend and friends.

“I’ll tell you more about him later.” he promised as they walked toward their own homeroom.

\----------------------

Ryan groaned into his hands as he walked home with Adrien, as the other three had already gone their own ways to their places. It was actually rather nice to have a childhood friend at the school that he had just moved into.

However, that also meant that the friend didn’t have to hold back his laughter.

“I can’t believe you spoke Gaelic 5 times today and English twice! I know that they’re your native languages but still!” Adrien laughed, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Shut up.” Ryan grumbled, playing with the strap of his bag.

“I’m just teasing you, Ry. Anyway, say Seamus I said hi!” Adrien said with a roll of his eyes and a wave.

“See ya!” Ryan called after him as the boy walked toward the entrance of the manor.

With a sigh, Ryan continued on his way to the apartment complex and soon reached it, suddenly very grateful of the fact that the two didn’t actually live that far apart. When he got into the building, he dug into his bag to get his keys as he walked up the stairs to his floor. Ryan fumbled with the keys a bit as he unlocked the apartment and went inside.

“‘M home!” Ryan called out in English, yawning a little.

When he went into the living room, he saw Seamus on the couch, blankets wrapped around his legs and his laptop on his stomach. When Ryan entered the room, he looked over with a tired smile and waved.

“How was school?” Seamus asked as Ryan sat down the chair diagonal from it.

“Well, I met up with Adrien, which was pretty fun. What wasn’t so fun was that I kept on slipping into both Gaelic and English all freaking day, and Adrien wouldn’t stop teasing me about it.” Ryan said, starting off with a wide grin before quickly turning into annoyance as he facepalmed.

“Oh, I forgot Adrien goes to school around here. Is his father still a manipulative asshole?” Seamus asked bluntly, his eyes flashing with a type of rage that rarely was there.

“I’m not sure about the ‘manipulative’ part but he sure is a jerk. I accidentally bumped into him this morning and he sneered ‘foreigner’ at me. Knowing him, he probably forgot about us because we’re ‘insignificant Irish boys’.” Ryan said with a slightly sad tone of voice.

“I’m not surprised, to be honest.” Seamus said, bitterness lacing his voice.

Ryan sighed and sadly smiled as he got up and kissed his brother on the forehead. Seamus smiled and hugged his younger brother tightly before letting go, booping him on the nose. Ryan squeaked in surprise and rubbed it, causing both of them to giggle.

“What do you want for dinner?” Seamus asked gently, closing his laptop.

“Would mac and cheese be okay?” Ryan asked shyly as he swayed a little back and forth.

“That would be fine.” Seamus said as he put his laptop to the side and got up, stretching.

A pang of sadness went through Ryan as he saw the fading scars from the years of abuse and self-harm on Seamus’s stomach and sides. Seamus, apparently noticing his lingering gaze on his torso, smiled and pulled Ryan into a hug, gently rocking him back and forth.

“Why don’t you start on your homework and stuff while I get dinner ready?” he suggested quietly, kissing him on the top of the head.

Ryan nodded and pulled away, waving as he went to his bedroom and closed the door behind him. Almost immediately after he did that, his phone vibrated as a message came in. Curiously, he opened it and snickered as he saw that it was a selfie of an annoyed Adrien as he stuck out his tongue at how Natalie was endlessly talking.

Soon, the two started to text back and forth as Ryan started to unpack his bag and played his “Musicals” playlist on his iPod. However, he stopped when he saw the silver jewelry box that he had forgotten about in the excitement of seeing Adrien again. Picking it up, he opened it and took out the brooch. Examining briefly, he then clipped it onto his shirt, and was surprised by two swirling streaks of light exit the brooch: one a pale lavender and the other a bright white. Much to his amazement, the brooch warped so that it was just a purple jeweled brooch sitting on his collar.

Ryan’s eyes then fell on what looked like a small, purple fairy that was floating in the air...


	2. A New Start (Part 2)

_ Nooroo never knew how long he would stay in his miraculous, as his “master” was very fickle and tended to forget that he even existed. However, this particular time felt...different, though he couldn’t put his paw on it. However, much to his surprise, he heard music drift through the void and surround him, causing him to tilt his head to the side and close his eyes. _

_ “I float in my prison in a horrible, raging void. Neck deep in the darkness and nowhere to go. The tiniest prison with kwamis I used to know.” Nooroo sang softly, hugging his miraculous tightly to his chest. _

_ “Cold, clammy, and cheerless, the kwamis smell desperate. We’ll disappear any minute so someone must go. The tiniest prison with the kwamis I used to know.” Nooroo continued to sing, his eyes sweeping the void as six kwamis surrounded him, each one holding their miraculouses. _

_ “Everyone's pushing! Everyone's fighting! Storms are approaching! There's nowhere to hide! If I say the wrong thing, or I make the wrong choices, they'll throw me right over the side!” Nooroo sang, his irises shrinking as he watched the other kwamis fight and argue soundlessly with each other. _

_ “I'm hugging myself,” Nooroo watched as the silhouette of his old friend and lover floated in front of him, a terrifying grin on his face, “and the leader is pointing. Well, who made him leader?” Nooroo felt resentment build up inside him before it turned into resigned sadness, “Still, the weakest must go. The tiniest prison with the kwamis I used to know. The tiniest prison with the kwamis I used to know.” Nooroo sang, letting a few tears roll down his cheeks. _

_ Suddenly, loud, cruel laughter filled the void as he looked around for the source and saw that it was coming from the kwamis that he had once considered his friends. However, much to his horror, his one soulmate was the one who it seemed to be leading it. _

_ “Aww look, Nooroo’s going to-!” the turtle said with a cruel snicker. _

_ “Whine, whine, whine all night!” the ladybug sang with a malicious grin. _

_ “You don't deserve to live.” Wayzz went close to Nooroo, his voice low and menacing. _

_ “Why not kill yourself?” the cat sang, his tail curling around Nooroo’s neck like a noose. _

_ “Here have a sedative!” Wayzz waved a paw in the air as Nooroo’s miraculous was replaced by a wine bottle in his grip. _

_ “Whine, whine, whine!” the peacock sang, looking mockingly at Nooroo. _

_ “Like there's no hope for you!” Wayzz waved a hand in the air, cruelly smirking. _

_ “You're pathetic because you whine!” the fox said, his tail slapping him in the face. _

_ “You whine all night! Your ass is off the team! Go on and bitch and moan! You don't deserve to dream! You're gonna die alone!” Ways said, wrapping his paws around Nooroo’s neck, causing tears to flow down his cheeks. _

_ However, right as he was about to take a swig from the bottle after Wayzz had let go of him, the void was filled with a gentle, purple light, causing the kwamis to hiss as they vanished. Nooroo felt himself being dragged out of his kwami... _

However, instead of the cold observatory that he had become accustomed to, he was in someone’s room, which had some cardboard boxes in the corner, as if the person was still unpacking from moving. Fluttering around the room were the butterflies that were always strangely absent in his prison of a miraculous but always were in the observatory.

“Hello?” a young boy’s voice asked from seemingly out of nowhere.

Jumping and swiveling his head, Nooroo looked for the source of the voice until he turned around and saw a teenager around Adrien’s age standing near him, a confused look on his round face and holding what looked to be Gabriel’s silver jewelry box that he kept his miraculous in when he wasn’t using it. Speaking of the miraculous, it was attached to the teen’s t-shirt and proved to be a stark contrast in comparison to his white t-shirt.

“Who are you?” Nooroo asked, wincing at how broken and strained his voice was.

“Ryan Cassidy. And you’re…?” the boy, Ryan, asked as he stepped closer, looking curious and slightly worried.

“Nooroo. I’m the kwami who resides in the Butterfly Miraculous.” he introduced himself out of habit, bowing his head respectfully.

“Kwami?” Ryan asked, head tilting adorably to one side.

“Ryan! Dinner’s ready! Get your ass in here before it gets cold!” an older man’s voice shouted from another room, a teasing note to his voice that was almost unfamiliar to the kwami.

“Be right there in a minute!” Ryan called out before turning back toward the kwami with a sheepish smile, “Sorry, my brother just made dinner. Do you want anything?” he asked with a gentle tone.

_ Ask if he has any wine. You can drown your sorrows, just like old times.  _ Wayzz’s distorted voice sneered in his head.

“Grapes. Any kind of grape product.” Nooroo forced himself to say, shaking his head free of the poisonous thoughts.

“Grapes, huh? I think we have some jelly or something. I’ll ask Seamus. Anyway, see you after dinner!” Ryan said with a wave of his hand before he left the room, leaving him alone with all of the butterflies and his own thoughts.

“What...just happened?” Nooroo asked himself aloud, not sure if what had just happened was real or not.

_ Knowing your luck, this is just a fantasy that your brain came up with. _ Plagg’s voice echoed in his head with a mocking hiss.

“If it is just a dream, I might as well make the most of it.” Nooroo said with a sigh as he flew over to the writing desk in the room.

On top of it was a sketchbook open to a set of pages filled with small doodles, either depicting what seemed to be events that had happened during the day or nightmares that may have happened the night before. Next to each drawing was a small caption or title in quotation marks as well as what Nooroo assumed was his signature. He then noticed that on his desk was his cellphone, which had a few notifications on it. Leaning in close, he saw that one of the messages was from a contact named “Adrien”. Looking around carefully, Nooroo leaned in to open the notification…   


...when the door opened, revealing Ryan, who was holding a bunch of snack foods as well as a bowl of grapes. The teen happily hummed to a tune that Nooroo couldn’t hear as he closed the door behind him and sat down on the floor, spreading out the snacks.

“Well, instead of just staring at the grapes, why not eat some?” Ryan asked with a childish giggle as he got up, retrieved his phone from the desk, and sat back down.

Nooroo tentatively flew down and landed on the edge of the bowl and took a grape and started to nibble on it, being careful not to get any of the juice on himself or the carpet. Ryan scrolled through his phone, giggling a little as he tapped a reply.

“Hey, Nooroo, look at this selfie that Adrien sent me!” Ryan suddenly said with a giggle, holding the phone out to Nooroo.

Taken aback slightly, the kwami looked at the picture and felt something strange settle in his stomach when he saw that it was a picture of none other than THE Adrien that Nooroo knewーthe son of his old miraculous holder and owner of the Cat Miraculousーwith a goofy smile on his face as he made a peace sign at the camera and had a cat filter on, ironically enough. 

“It’s so nice that I was able to reconnect with him after so long!” the teenager continued giddily, unaware of the turmoil that was inside of Nooroo.

“Reconnect?” the kwami asked in confusion, unaware that he had connections to Adrien.

“Yeah! For the longest time, my family and his family would visit each other over the summer!” The sunny look that seemed to never disappear slowly faded as he remembered something, “Until...a few years back, Mrs. Agreste disappeared without a trace and my parents both died in a car accident.”

Ryan was quiet for a moment, fidgeting with something on his phone before continuing, “Since then, Mr. Agreste has been super cold to everyone, including Adrien, and I...nearly lost Seamus, too.”

Nooroo felt a cold shiver go down his spine at the implication of what Seamus nearly did.

“But, I didn’t. Seamus has been getting better and, although he still has his down swings, he still tries his best to be the best older brother/guardian that he could ever be. And, in return, I try to be the best little brother that I could ever be.” Ryan said with a relieved sigh and a small, happy smile.

Nooroo listened intently with an awed expression. Much to his surprise, the teen then scooched forward with a curious and determined look on his face.

“Do you have anyone that you miss?” Ryan asked, his voice now quiet and almost serious.

Nooroo opened his mouth to reply but closed it when he realized he couldn't say that he missed Wayzz or any of the kwamis.

Well, at least after that nightmare that he had just gone through.

“It’s okay if there isn’t.” Ryan said, breaking the silence as he gently smiled.

Ryan then looked down at his phone and groaned as his shoulders slumped.

“I have school in the morning.” he explained with a crooked and sheepish smile.

Then, much to Nooroo’s horror, Ryan reached up to take off the brooch when suddenly he stopped, a look of confusion and concern on his face. He then picked up Nooroo and held him close to his chest, allowing Nooroo to hear his soothing heartbeat.

“It’s okay, Nooroo.” he said softly, rocking him back and forth.

It was only then did the kwami realize that his body was shaking and tears were spilling down his face.

When did..?

“Is being inside the brooch really that horrible?” Ryan asked softly, no hostility or mocking in his voice.

“It’s...this suffocating void that no matter how much you move around, you can’t escape it.” Nooroo mumbled as his sobs dissolved into just sniffles.

“Jesus, that bad?” When Nooroo nodded, Ryan hummed thoughtfully, “How about this: you sleep next to me so that we drive away each other’s nightmares?” he suggested as he got up and placed Nooroo on the bed.

“O-okay.” the kwami said, surprised at how kind and gentle he was.

Ryan stood up and stretched before carefully taking off his shirt to remove an article of clothing underneath it before putting the shirt back on, and changed into pajama pants with, ironically enough, butterflies on them. He then plugged in his phone, turned off the light, before lying down on the bed, going under the covers and gesturing for Nooroo to cuddle. Tentatively, the kwami scurried up to his neck and curled up in the crook of it, listening to the blood pumping through the artery there.

“Night, Nooroo.” the teenager yawned as he snuggled down, a hand cradling the kwami.

“Night, master.” Nooroo said with a sigh.

“Just call me Ryan.” Ryan said sleepily as his eyes dropped closed and his breathing evened.

Nooroo briefly glanced at the akumas, who were fluttering around peacefully around the room before he closed his eyes and fell asleep to the sound of Ryan’s pulse.

And, much to his surprise, he didn’t wake up in the middle of the night, like he normally did.

\----------------------

Trixx snickered as he watched his chosen scramble to get together all of her things, as she had overslept and only woke up because Nino texted her that he was outside already.

“It’s not funny, Trixx!” Alya said as she hurriedly brushed her hair, wincing when it pulled out knots in it.

“It is kind of funny.” the fox kwami said with yet another snicker as he waved his tail in the air dismissively.

“Just shut up and get in the bag!” she said, gesturing toward her backpack.

Still amused by how flustered his chosen was, Trixx flew into the bag and settled at the bottom of it, immediately going through her phone and playing one of the apps that he had downloaded while she was busy. 

“Bye Mom!” Alya called out as she quickly rushed out the door to meet up with her boyfriend.

Trixx snickered as he heard Nino start to rag Alya for pulling another all nighter. While his chosen was distracted, he slipped out of the bagーtaking her phone with himーand slipped into Nino’s bag, where he found Wayzz dozing off.

“Yo, Wayzz!” Trixx said as he plopped down next to his friend, nudging him with his elbow.   


Wayzz jolted out of his daze and looked over at Trixx sleepily with a confused look on his face.

“Yeah, Trixx?” the turtle asked with a yawn as he drowsily smiled.

“...Okay, I have somewhat of an excuse for being tired, because Alya pulled an all-nighter again. But what happened with you? You look like someone ran over you with a truck. Twice.” Trixx said bluntly, noticing how disheveled the normally well-kept kwami was.

“I...just couldn’t sleep.” he replied firmly, his eyes narrowing defensively.

Trixx sighed as the two leaned against one another, listening quietly to their holders start to talk with Marinette. He then turned toward the turtle, eyes softening as he gently put his paw on Wayzz’s flipper.

“Was it about Nooroo and Duusu?” Trixx asked, squeezing it sympathetically.

Tears built up in the turtle’s eyes as he nodded, sniffling. Trixx opened his arms and Wayzz immediately hugged him, letting out soft, choked sobs. The fox sighed and rubbed the turtle’s back as he let out all of the built-up anguish inside of him. However, suddenly, Wayzz perked up, his eyes hopeful and filled with a type of joy that was rare to see in his eyes now-a-days.

“Wayzz, what’s-?” Trixx started to ask before he was cut off by the turtle.

“He’s here.” Wayzz sounded positively excited and happy.

“Who’s here?” Trixx asked in confusion, not sure of what cause the 180 in mood.

“Nooroo!” 

Trixx’s eyes widened as he closed his eyes tightly, trying to detect the butterfly’s aura. And, sure enough, it was there, though it seemed...faint and darker then the last time that he had detected it.

“Should we tell the others?” Trixx asked, somewhat bothered by the difference in Nooroo’s aura.

“Of course! We’ll tell them and the others at lunch!” Wayzz said with an excited grin.

However, despite how happy and optimistic the turtle was about the butterfly being there, Trixx couldn’t help that something wasn’t right with Nooroo.

\----------------------

They were here.

They. Were.  **Here.**

Nooroo couldn’t help but shake in his secure spot in Ryan’s jacket at the idea that he was in close proximities to the very kwamis that he had just had a nightmare about not too long ago.

Oh god, they probably hated him for everything he allowed Hawkmoth to do! And Plagg probably knew that he was there all along so Plagg would doubly hate him! And-

“Nooroo, baby, are you okay?” Ryan’s gentle and sweet voice broke through his troubled thoughts.

Nooroo immediately shook his head as he looked up at him with horrified eyes. However, instead of asking what was wrong, the teen just pulled him close into a hug and just let him stay there, the only sounds in the stall being Nooroo’s uneven breathing and Ryan’s soft humming of a tune that Nooroo didn’t know.

“Do you feel well enough to go back to class?” Ryan asked gently, cupping him in his hands.

“Would it be okay if I just napped while…?” Nooroo made a small gesture to indicate the fact that class would be going on.

“Of course! Sleep as much as you need.” Ryan replied with an understanding smile.

Nooroo shot him a grateful smile as he went into his jacket’s inner pocket and curled up, soothed by Ryan’s gentle humming under his breath.

And, once more, he was surprised by the lack of nightmares that usually plagued his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the bit of a song fic at the beginning there; I was listening to "Shine a Light Reprise" and "Lifeboat" on repeat and I had the idea to connect it with the story.


End file.
